Defending champion Cord Garcia's guide to winning Colossus II - WSOP

May 31, 2016

The 2016 World Series of Poker kicks off Wednesday afternoon with the annual employees’ event, but the poker world as a whole -- casual players and fans, and pros alike -- eagerly await the return of Colossus on Thursday.

Last year, the inaugural $565 buy-in event at the WSOP guaranteed a prize pool of $5 million, an ambitious goal that projected an astonishing 10,000 entries just to meet the guarantee. After the dust settled, however, this number was blown completely out of the water as 22,374 entries (through four flights with re-entries) and 14,284 unique players made an attempt to be a part of history. For 5,664 players (nearly 40 percent of the field), this was the very WSOP event they ever played, highlighting the true mass appeal of an event like the Colossus.

After such an impressive initial offering, the WSOP further modified Colossus II by adding two more flights, leading to an increased guaranteed prize pool of $7 million. More importantly to some, the winner is guaranteed $1 million -- especially notable as it proves the WSOP is listening to the players, many of whom voiced their displeasure with the perceived "low" first place prize in 2015 ($638,880, or just over 5.7 percent of the total prize pool).

Do you think you have what it takes to be the next Colossus champion? Do you have the patience and resilience to survive four grueling days -- to win the coveted WSOP gold bracelet and pocket at least $1 million in the first week of the series? If you believe that you do, who better to ask for tips and advice on how to win Colossus II than the inaugural champion Cord Garcia? I recently had the chance to speak with the Houston native about the strategy he employed to win Colossus event, and I picked his brain for some tips that could prove vital for this year’s field.

Bernard Lee: With the WSOP coming up, you must be excited to defend your Colossus title. The event is somewhat unique at the WSOP, as it is a re-entry event. Last year, you fired three bullets and on the third one you bagged. Did you have a strategy behind this?

Cord Garcia: Last year I pre-registered for all four flights (this year, you can only register for one flight at a time). I definitely decided to use the first couple of bullets to be aggressive and gamble. I was trying to build my stack early so I could maneuver in the tournament. But after I bricked both initial bullets, I decided to play it straight up and not try to force it.

Remember, you can’t win the tournament on Day 1, but you can put yourself in good position, so I would recommend determining first how many bullets you are willing to fire. For the first half of your available bullets, take your chances to try to build a huge stack. Afterward, if those are not successful, play straightforward to try to survive to advance.

Lee: With so many players in each flight, the task for some players may seem very daunting, especially after seeing so many players filling up every table [and every room]. With over 20,000 entries last year and probably over 30,000 this year, the thought of winning is so monumental. How did you approach this tournament on Day 1?

Garcia: One of my good friends and mentor, ODB (“Original” David Baker) told me that the event was basically a four-flight satellite (this year consider it a six-flight) to get to Day 2, which had about 15 percent or approximately 3,000 players remaining. Of course, you don’t want to play it exactly like a satellite, but this concept made the event more palatable. I took that approach going in and it helped me mentally.

This year, with 15 percent cashing in all events including Colossus, players will reach the money about two-thirds the way through Day 1. Nevertheless, the same approach can be used this year.

Lee: With so many new players, Colossus was to many their “own” WSOP main event. As you approached the money bubble, could you feel that many players were just hoping to cash, similar to the main event? If so, were you able to take advantage of this?

Garcia: I definitely felt it as it did feel like the WSOP main event. I saw a lot of people just super excited and happy to play and get to the money. So many people were tweeting and calling people about just cashing. My goal was to lean on the shorter stacks as we approached the money bubble so I could build up my stack.

Lee: After the money bubble broke last year, the players were busting out so fast. The statistics I recorded were 300 in the first 30 minutes, 550 in the first hour, 800 in the first 90 minutes. What was your approach after the money bubble burst?

Garcia: Initially, since the payouts were so flat in the beginning stages, my strategy was to try to run up my stack. However, since so many short stacks were quickly getting eliminated, I quickly switched my strategy to survival mode, especially since I had a solid, yet not spectacular stack.

Thus, you may want to focus on survival after the money bubble bursts. If you are able to survive Day 1 this year, you will possibly be in the running to make history.

Lee: This year, you have the unique possibility of cashing in the event, busting out before the end of Day 1 (or even sacrificing your stack at the end of the Day) and then entering another flight and cashing again. How do you like this new modification?

Garcia: I love the fact that we are playing so deep into Day 1. From this year’s cashing at 15 percent, [and playing] down to around 5 percent [of the day’s starting field], that’s my favorite part of the day personally because everyone’s tired and wants to bag chips. Thus, if you take the right strategy, you can play really aggressive, run your stack up and try to bag in the top 10 percent of the remaining few players. Most of the remaining players are going to take a conservative approach because they had played so long during the day and don’t want to go bust. Conversely, I’m not afraid to go bust and I try to take advantage of this situation -- especially at the end of the night.

Lee: During Colossus last year, you didn’t have the smoothest ride. Along the way, you had some ups and downs, taking a few bad beats. Nevertheless, you kept plugging away at it and fortunately found the crucial double ups that you needed. What do you do mentally to stay in the event, especially after a bad beat?

Garcia: It’s really easy when things are going well. You have a smile on your face, you’re in a good mood and it seems almost effortless. But as soon as you take a bad beat, the heat is suddenly on. What I try to do is forget about what stage of the tournament we are playing, even if it is very deep in the event. When I’m short (stacked), survival is the key and I focus on getting through one hand at a time.

Additionally, you want to focus on your current stack, not the stack you had on the last hand and try foolishly to get all your chips back in one hand.

Lee: Last year, at the start of Day 3, there was only about two percent of the field remaining. This year, the field will reach that point at the start of Day 2. You were one of the average stacks entering this juncture last year, how did you approach the tournament with so few players remaining?

Garcia: I was feeling great, just riding the wave and not trying to let the weight of the moment hold me down. Entering Day 2, I knew there was more room to play as the levels increased to 60 minutes from 40 minutes (this year, Day 1 is 30 minute levels). So, depending on your stack and which players possess chips, you have to assess which players to put pressure on (often the players who were inexperienced) and who to avoid (the experienced players).

If I were one of the largest stacks, I would consider taking more spots and putting pressure on the mid stacks, testing them for their tournament lives.

Lee: The payouts were still relatively flat with the big money at the final table. What was your strategy during this crucial stage of the tournament?

Garcia: The payouts were flat, but it was still real money. That being said, I know that if I was to finish 400th or 150th it wouldn’t change my life and, realistically, I realized there was a high chance that I would go bust. So, I decided to put pressure on the players who cared about the pay jumps and who hadn’t been in this situation before. Additionally, I played cautiously against the more experienced players.

Lee: After you made the final table, you were one of the short stacks. What was your approach as you enter the most important final table of your career?

Garcia: You need to realize that making the Colossus final table is a truly unique situation. You have to consider so many factors such as ICM, chip position, which players are just laddering up and valuing their chips. I knew that being the short stack, there would be spots to pick up chips, but I had to be patient.

If I was a middle stack, I would go back to my standard strategy of playing small pots with the solid players and leaning on the less experienced players.

If I was fortunate to be the big stack, I may have considered keeping the short stacks alive, so you can lean of the middle stacks, who may want to ladder up.

Lee: Congratulations again Cord. As the only player who can go back-to-back in Colossus, I wish you the best of luck again this year and for the rest of the WSOP.

Garcia: Thanks. Over the past couple of months, every time I play poker, someone has asked if I will defend my title. I’m definitely eager for the chance to make another deep run and remarkably go back-to-back.